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To stabilize and transport them through complex systems, nanoparticles are often encapsulated in polymeric nanocarriers, which are tailored to specific environments. For example, a hydrophilic polymer capsule maintains circulation and stability of nanoparticles in aqueous environments. A more highly-designed nanocarrier might have a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell to allow transport of hydrophobic nanoparticles and pharmaceuticals through physiological media. Polydimethylsiloxane, PDMS, is a hydrophobic material in a liquidlike state at room temperature. The preparation of stable, aqueous dispersions of PDMS droplets in water is problematic due to the intense mismatch in surface energies between PDMS and water. The present work describes the encapsulation of hydrophobic metal- and metal oxide nanoparticles within PDMS nanodroplets using flash nanoprecipitation. The PDMS is terminated by amino groups and the nanodroplet is capped with a layer of poly(styrene sulfonate), forming a glassy outer shell. The hydrophobic nanoparticles nucleate PDMS droplet formation, decreasing the droplet size. The resulting nanocomposite nanodroplets are stable in aqueous salt solutions without the use of surfactants. The hierarchical structuring, elucidated with small angle x-ray scattering, offers a new platform for the isolation and transport of hydrophobic molecules and nanoparticles through aqueous systems. 

Abstract Surface passivation of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) using a low‐cost industrial organic pigment quinacridone (QA) is presented. The procedure involves solution processing a soluble derivative of QA,N,N‐bis(tert‐butyloxycarbonyl)‐quinacridone (TBOC‐QA), followed by thermal annealing to convert TBOC‐QA into insoluble QA. With halide perovskite thin films coated by QA, PSCs based on methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI₃) showed significantly improved performance with remarkable stability. A PCE of 21.1 % was achieved, which is much higher than 18.9 % recorded for the unmodified devices. The QA coating with exceptional insolubility and hydrophobicity also led to greatly enhanced contact angle from 35.6° for the pristine MAPbI₃thin films to 77.2° for QA coated MAPbI₃thin films. The stability of QA passivated MAPbI₃perovskite thin films and PSCs were significantly enhanced, retaining about 90 % of the initial efficiencies after more than 1000 hours storage under ambient conditions.